Disney Weighing Thousands of Job Cuts and Asking Some Managers to Target 20% Savings, Bloomberg Reports

Disney is preparing to cut thousands of jobs and has asked some managers to target 20% in annual cost savings, Bloomberg reported today, Nov. 2, citing people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity because the discussions are private. A Disney spokesperson declined to comment.

The report did not say how many jobs are at risk. It said managers could hit the 20% target through eliminated roles, expense reductions, or both. Some parts of the company, including theme parks, the TV networks and the movie studio, would absorb a larger share than others.

Those are claims from anonymous sources. Disney has confirmed none of them.

Where the money would go

According to Bloomberg's sources, CEO Josh D'Amaro wants to reinvest part of the savings into film and TV programming, technology, and the theme parks and cruise ship businesses. So the parks sit on both sides of this story: a possible target for cuts and a promised recipient of the cash.

Disney has also promised Wall Street double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share this fiscal year. Reuters, summarizing the Bloomberg report, listed the pressures on D'Amaro as AI, weaker box office results, streaming competition and a slowdown in international attendance at the parks.

A fifth round in eight months

D'Amaro succeeded Bob Iger as CEO in March. The cuts since then have come steadily:

• April: about 1,000 positions eliminated. D'Amaro confirmed the layoffs in a memo to employees.
• July: several hundred jobs, mainly at Pixar, ESPN and National Geographic.
• September: a few hundred roles in human resources and technology.
• October 1: The Wall Street Journal reported Disney planned to restructure its TV division, with cuts also pointed at the legal and global affairs unit.
• October 28: between 100 and 200 employees in the Experiences division, mostly at the Imagineering campus in Glendale.

A California state filing later listed 159 permanent layoffs at the Glendale site, effective Dec. 29.

Disney also offered early retirement to employees at director level or above who are at least 50 and have 10 or more years at the company.

This is on top of what came before D'Amaro. Under Iger, Disney cut 7,000 roles in 2023 as part of a $5.5 billion savings push, then several hundred more in 2025.

The parks problem

The Experiences division, which covers theme parks, resorts and cruise lines, is the company's engine. It generated $36.2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025 and more than 56% of Disney's operating income.

Roughly 80% of Disney's employees work in that division, according to figures blogmickey cited from an earlier report. Bloomberg's account does not say whether the 20% target reaches park operations.

Disney's workforce stood at 231,000 at the end of fiscal 2025: 172,000 in the U.S. and 59,000 abroad. Sixteen percent were part-time and 8% seasonal.

The company's own framing of the October Experiences layoffs differs from the picture of a broad squeeze. A person familiar with those cuts told the Los Angeles Times they stemmed from a regular evaluation of the division's priorities, investments and project timelines, and that Disney has more parks-related projects in progress than ever. That person also said the cuts were separate from the early retirement offer.

Whether the Glendale layoffs were an early piece of the larger plan is unclear. Disney has not said.

On demand, the company has said the international visitation headwinds at its domestic parks have "moderated," according to executives on the August earnings call.

Not just Disney

Hollywood is consolidating and cutting. Skydance, which acquired Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year, is looking to cut $6 billion in costs over three years, and Netflix has also cut jobs, according to Reuters.

Traditional TV revenue is falling and streaming growth is slowing across the industry. That is the backdrop for every one of these announcements.

What comes next

A 20% target applied to a manager's budget is not a 20% cut to Disney's workforce, and the company has given no number. The scale will become clearer only if Disney confirms it or files the required state layoff notices.

Disney reports full fiscal 2026 earnings on Nov. 17. That call is the next scheduled opportunity for D'Amaro to say whether the report is accurate, how many jobs are involved, and which divisions carry the load.